Victor Oladipo's energy sets tone as the Magic edge the Pistons 87-86

It would've been tough under any circumstances. But here's what made it even rougher: Siva spent about 25 of those minutes chasing Orlando Magic rookie Victor Oladipo around the Amway Center court.

If the Magic's first six preseason exhibitions have revealed anything, it's that Oladipo expects to bring the same activity level to the NBA that he brought to the Indiana Hoosiers. On Sunday, he scored eight points, grabbed six rebounds and distributed seven assists as the Magic edged the Pistons 87-86.

Oladipo faces a significant learning curve in the year ahead as he acclimates to playing point guard for the first time in his career. This month, those growing pains have manifested themselves in 3.2 turnovers per game and a few off-balance drives to the hoop.

Afterward, he said one of the biggest adjustments he's faced so far is trying not to go so fast on the court.

Against Detroit, he committed five turnovers to go along with three steals. He also missed a pair of contested layup attempts in transition.

"Sometimes, I just don't realize how fast I'm going," Oladipo said.

"I missed a layup today . . . and I was going so fast I didn't even realize I'd missed it. So, sometimes I've got to slow down. But other than that, I think I'm doing pretty good. There's mistakes here and there, but they're correctable mistakes. So, I'm just going to keep growing as a player."

Vaughn is willing to live with a few turnovers here and there from Oladipo as long as the prized rookie remains aggressive.

Oladipo's aggressiveness has translated into 3.8 free-throw attempts per game from him.

Nik Vucevic originally was slated to start at center Sunday — public-address announcer Paul Porter even announced Vucevic's name during pregame introductions — but Kyle O'Quinn took Vucevic's place.

Vucevic didn't play because he felt a bit sore, and Vaughn didn't want to take any chances. Veterans Jameer Nelson and Jason Maxiell also had the night off.

Nelson's night off opened a spot for Oladipo in the Magic's starting lineup alongside shooting guard Arron Afflalo, small forward Maurice Harkless, power forward Solomon Jones and O'Quinn.

Forward Tobias Harris played for the first time after a two-game absence due to a sore left ankle. Harris scored 13 points in 16 minutes, but he aggravated his ankle during the third quarter and didn't return to the game.

Harris thinks he'll be fine.

"We'll see how it feels, and we'll just go from there with it," he said.

Oladipo almost certainly will begin the regular season as the first guard off the Orlando bench.

On Sunday, however, an announced crowd of 12,967 gave him the loudest ovation of any of Orlando's starters.

At some point, he'll hit the dreaded "rookie wall," the time when a rookie encounters physical and mental fatigue.

For now, though, he feels fresh, unburdened for the first time in his life by the demands of school.

"This is lovely," he said.

"No classes. No walking to class. No tutoring. No reports. No homework. All you do is just play basketball. I've been playing since I was 5. We all have been playing since we were little, and we all have a love for the game. We dreamed about being here. You just can't forget that no matter what happens. It's all a blessing. So, we've just got to keep working hard."

jbrobbins@tribune.com. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog and follow him on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins.